On
September 1 special visitors arrived on the chicks' training strip.
The pilots watched in amazement as the flock's first
family showed up. This is where the parents themselves trained as chicks
in 2002. Pilot Joe Duff said, "I guess we should have expected
that one
day the wild
parents
would
bring their
chicks
to
visit."

"The
chicks look healthy, but one is much larger than the other. In fact,
it is bigger than the adult female. The smaller of the two stayed
very close to its parents while the larger wandered.

"It
was interesting to see how the wild chicks completely ignored objects
as foreign as pens,
aircraft, and costumed handlers—simply
because
their parents showed no fear. It clearly demonstrates that chicks
take their cues from the adults."